


Second Impressions

by Beni_O2 (Benihime_O2)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 06:51:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15658014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benihime_O2/pseuds/Beni_O2
Summary: Mai and Ishizu’s first impressions of each other aren’t exactly the best, but over time they manage to make things work. Life just keeps throwing curve balls along the way.Prequel to my previous ongoing series but works as a standalone.





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> How does law student Ishizu Ishtar balance her work, babysitting a brat, and an all too flashy suitor? She'd like to know.
> 
> Setting sometime in the early 2000s, about 10 years before the main Weird Science series. Plays hard and loose with canon characterizations, most notably a well-intentioned but annoying Noa.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does law student Ishizu Ishtar balance her work, babysitting a brat, and an all too flashy suitor? She'd like to know, that's for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Setting sometime in the early 2000s, about 10 years before the main Weird Science series. Plays hard and loose with canon characterizations, most notably a well-intentioned but annoying Noa.

 

* * *

 

 

She looked at her map again, the paper crinkling as her fingers tightened. There was a dull throb behind her forehead, a gentle signal that she’d have a full blown headache before her meeting even started.

 

Assuming she ever found the damn office, of course.

 

Damn her advisor for changing buildings.

 

Ishizu didn’t exactly have the most enviable sense of direction, but even if she did it wouldn’t help that she spent just as much time dodging ambling freshmen as she did actually walking. The sidewalk was so crowded, she had half the mind just to go back to her apartment, call and reschedule her meeting. She was already getting too annoyed, she’d never be able to focus.

 

“Is there something I can help you with?”

 

Ishizu looked up from the now crumpled map in her hand. Peering through her sunglasses, she could see a taller blonde woman in front of her. The sun was already strong that day, and the woman’s hair seemed too bright to look at directly, a mass of curls that should have looked as stringy as Ishizu’s hair did. There was a smile on the woman’s face, and a flashiness to her, like she knew she was beautiful and wanted other people to acknowledge it.

 

Ishizu felt another throb signaling her upcoming headache.

 

The shifted her stance a bit, and Ishizu realized that she was expecting an answer.

  
“Ah, is-”

 

“No.” Ishizu said curtly. “I’m fine.”

 

“Oh,” the other woman said, taken a bit off guard but quick to recover. “I just saw the map and thought that-”

 

“You know, that’s nice of you, but I’m not interested.”

 

The blonde’s lips quirked up to the side. “Hey, I’m just trying to help. You do have a map out, you know.”

 

“I’m not lost.” Ishizu lied. At least, not  _very_  lost. It was a big campus, sure, but there were only so many buildings and she’d eventually find the right one. And once she found her damn advisor’s new room, she’d be fine.

 

Eventually.

 

The blonde’s hands went up, and Ishizu could see even her  _nails_  were annoyingly flashy. “Look, no judgment here, everyone’s a freshman once. Just want to help if I can.”

 

“Well, there’s plenty of  _actual_ underclassman wandering around that you could be helping, that maybe you  _should_  be helping so I won’t have to keep dodging them on the sidewalk.” Ishizu snapped. It was a hot day, she was lost, her head hurt, and it was making her feel a little ugly.

 

“And I won’t keep you from it.” Ishizu said in a false friendly voice. With an equally fake smile, she turned heel, walking back towards the student commons. As she walked, she could hear the sound of heels clacking behind her.

 

‘ _Even her damn shoes!’_

 

“Well, now that you mention it, I’m actually not that busy. If you weren’t busy either-”

 

“I am.” Ishizu said curtly, keeping her pace steady.

 

“-we could get a coffee or something, it is a hot day and if you’d like-”

 

“You know,” Ishizu stopped, shifting on her heel to face the taller woman. The blonde almost walked into her, but managed to stop in time. “a guy would know when to take a  _hint_.”

 

That managed to wipe the smile off of the blonde’s face. “I just, I’m not trying to be jerk...”

 

“I know, and it’s fine. I’m leaving.” And with that, she kept walking towards the student commons. This time, there weren’t clacking heels following her.

 

“My name’s Mai, by the way.”

 

Ishizu didn’t answer, and being two hours late to meet her advisor was be enough to help her forget about the annoying blonde for the rest of the year.

 

* * *

 

Long past that forgotten incident, Ishizu found herself sequestered in the campus library. The sun had set some time before, and the afternoon rush of students had long since died down. It wasn’t that far enough into the semester that students were flooding the library, desperately trying to finish term projects as if they didn’t know the due date when the professors assigned it back in September. As such, Ishizu had her pick of tables, and she had nestled herself at one that was hiding behind a few rows of books. Just because the library wasn’t full didn’t mean that other students weren’t still being noisy.

 

It was the insufferablity of underclassmen.

 

And it wasn’t like Ishizu didn’t know what she was talking about. It was her second year of law school, and most of the slackers who didn’t deserve to be there had already dropped from the program.

 

Half of the table was organized with neat piles of folders, notebooks, and books. She’d checked out some books that were already in her bag, secure for when she was back in her apartment. In front of her were some of the special reference books that weren’t allowed to leave the library. She wanted to get a head start on the rest of her class with the project that had been assigned earlier that week, and she had already sent two of her classmates packing with dejected looks when they saw that she already had it.

 

Yes, it was almost the perfect studying atmosphere.

 

“ _Right round baby, right round like a record baby, right round round round.”_  came a muffled voice. From across the table, flanked by a now closed notebook and CD player, her, ‘ _companion_ ’ was busy mumbling into the tabletop. He was face down, with the hood from his tacky, over-sized university sweater pulled over his head, his hands holding his headphones against his ears as if the quietness of the library was physically painful to him.

 

To his credit, she couldn't really hear the music coming out of his headphones, but his mumbling didn’t really leave any doubt to what it was.

 

She flicked an eraser over at him. “You can leave anytime, you know.”

 

The Kaiba Corp heir made a muffled, wounded noise as the eraser hit its mark, and he moved his head up, pulling off the headphones and hood. Bleary blue eyes looked up at her as he pouted. “You said you weren’t going to be here very long.”

 

“Huh, no, I never said that.” She was already focused back on her book, flipping to the next page with one hand as the other jotted down a quick couple of notes. “Pass that eraser back, I still need it.”

 

“But you threw it at me!”

 

“I thought your dad sent you to school to learn something about business, not whining.” She could tell without looking that his pout deepened.

 

“Don’t be mean, you’re the one who’s hitting people whose only crime is trying to keep you company.”

 

“Noa Kaiba, you have a fundamental misunderstanding about the worth of your personhood if you think your personal company is that valuable.”

 

“Ishiiiiizu, you’re a meanie. I’m going to tell your mom.”

 

Ishizu let out a snort. “Like she even wants you back into her house anytime soon. You eat too much and you never shut up.”

 

Her mother, a high powered lawyer in the city, was apparently on good business terms with the President of Kaiba Corp. Not so much on personal terms, but presidents of large (and somewhat sleazy) corporations usually didn’t end up there on personal charm. Still, it was that working relationship that somehow got Ishizu, a busy, focused second year law school student, tasked with babysitting the tycoon’s spawn as the  _child_ (the brat was 15, 15!) had been set loose to wander the university scene.

 

It was her responsibility to keep him from flunking out or impregnating someone. Neither scenario was likely, but alas, it was her task as a ‘dutiful daughter’.

 

Of course, just because her daughter had to play babysitter didn’t mean that her mother had to. Clever of her.

 

Noa played with her eraser for a bit before gently rolling it back at her. “Nope. Your big brother already called me inviting me to Thanksgiving. Your mom’s totally going to let me be there.”

 

Ishizu huffed, rolling her eyes. “He’ll just let anyone into the house, won’t he?” Odion really was too soft for his own good.

 

Noa leaned his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hands. “Come on, Ishizu, it’s getting really late. Aren’t you hungry? I’m hungry, and I’m going to have an existential crisis if I have to keep listening to the same CD over and over again. It’s not healthy.”

 

It wasn’t like she didn’t feel the slight toll that the hours hunched over reading had started to take, but like hell was she going to give in that easily. “And like I said, your highness, you can leave whenever.”

 

He let his elbows slide on the table until his arms were flat against the table, his hands framing his face. “But if  _I_ leave then you’re definitely not going to eat or drink something that isn’t stale coffee." He took on a more pleading tone. "Come on, would it hurt that much to give your body a break?”

 

She purposefully ignored her lukewarm coffee in her thermos that sat patiently on the floor next to her chair. It had tasted fine when they arrived 5 hours ago, but with each subsequent sip it had tasted more and more like watery sludge that had once come in contact with a shard of a coffee bean.

 

He let out another whine. “You already know you’re smarter than everyone in your class, falling asleep reading your fancy book isn’t going to make any difference. In fact, you’re just sacrificing brain cells like this. It isn’t right, I say.”

 

“Listening to  _you_  is sacrificing brain cells.”

 

His voice was annoying as ever, but he had a point: the words were starting to blur, and if she couldn’t commit herself 110% to it, it wasn’t worth trying to power through the rest of the chapter. Not if she wasn’t going to remember it properly.

 

“Please?” He pleaded one more time, his voice getting close to the point where one of the student librarians would start poking around to see what the fuss was about. “I’ll pay?”

 

She let out a sigh that came from somewhere deep in her soul. With a hint of reluctance, she closed her book.

 

“Of course you are.”

 

* * *

 

 

“You know, Noa, one of these days you’re going to realize that money can’t solve all of your problems.” Ishizu noted as they made their way to the restaurant. It was was fairly mediocre overall, but it was the nearest thing next to the main dining hall and like  _hell_  would she go there

 

She had some dignity, after all.

 

Swing his arms like a little kid he grinned at her. “Maybe, but hey, at least we’ll get something to eat out of this. I should’ve packed more snacks, I felt it in my bones that you were going to be all weird again.”

 

They were finally almost there. Noa had slowed down his pace to match hers, his stupidly long legs making it a hassle to keep up with him when he was too excited. He held the door open as they finally made their way inside into the welcoming warmth.

 

“We’re finally here! I need something covered in grease and I need it fast!”

 

Ishizu snorted superiorly. “For someone who’s mostly skin and bones under that ugly sweater, I’m surprised how much you can inhale. It’s a bit disgusting, really.”

 

He shrugged off the bard. "I’m just a growing boy, I’m already taller than you, and you’re practically an old lady.” She elbowed him viciously in the gut. After her first glance into the restaurant, Ishizu could see that she made a mistake in leaving the library.

 

Not only was it more crowded than it had any right to be on a Thursday night, but she couldn’t see any empty tables. It was a mid-sized restaurant, but unless there were some empty booths in the back they would probably be out of luck.

 

A hostess walked up to them with an apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry, this isn’t a normal night for us.”

 

“Yeah, I can tell.” Noa added unnecessarily. Ishizu resisted the urge to elbow him again. Someone had to be the adult. “Is there an event going on or something?”

 

“No, not quite.” Said the hostess. “There was a leak in the kitchens for the main dining hall, so it had to close. It should be fixed by the morning, but until then we’ve had pretty heavy traffic from students. It’s been like this since around lunch.”

 

‘ _Great_ ’ Ishizu thought.  _‘And I was actually looking forward to eating something too_.’ Thankfully there was a convenience store by her apartment, but it still wasn’t quite the same.

 

“Is there a wait time or something?” Noa asked. Ishizu narrowed her eyes slightly when she saw him slowly reached down towards his back pocket. If he got it into his fool head to try and bribe the hostess, she was going to leave him there and let him walk home to his dorm by himself, 15 or not.

 

The hostess looked between the two of them with an appraising look. “The table turn over has been pretty slow tonight.” She gestured towards the main dining area. “A lot of people have taken this as a chance to study too, so they really aren’t going anytime soon.”

 

Ishizu was ready to thank the hostess (for nothing) and pull the pouting Noa behind her, but the hostess moved on too quickly. “But, we do so happen to have some single diners seated at tables who were generous enough to be open to other diners joining them. Most of those tables are already full, but we do have a booth in the back with someone who still has free space. Would that be alright?”

 

“I know, I know,” she said, hands up like she was expecting outrage, “this probably isn’t what you two were looking for on a night out-”  _‘oh is THAT what she thinks’_  Ishizu thought, “but it’ll get you seated the quickest, and um, maybe, you’ll have fun meeting someone new along the way?” The hostess said the last few words in an increasingly small voice as she shrunk under Ishizu’s withering glare. She raised the menu in her hands slightly as if to shield herself. Luckily, Noa and his idiotic tendencies were there to break the tension.

 

“Oh my gosh, that’ll be so great! Ishizu, it’s cool right? We don’t have to wait now!” he said, pulling on her arm.

 

“We don’t  _have_  to eat here.” She said half under her breath, but he persisted.

 

“It’ll be fine, plus this person’s probably some cool old professor who wants to hang out with the kids or something. And we’re young! We’re cool!” The last one was debatable, but he was already gently pulling her along as the hostess led them towards the back of the restaurant. Ishizu felt too annoyed to brush him off properly, and let herself be led. “Well, you  _are_  a kid, so at least you’ll get your wish.”

 

“Ah, here we are.” The hostess stopped, waving a hand towards the booth before placing down their menus. “Thank you again, Ms Valentine.”

 

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all.” Said a soft voice that for a second caused a low spike of annoyance to flow through Ishizu. An awfully familiar annoyance, but from where…

 

“Hi, nice to meet you!” Noa wasted no time in scooting into the booth, already all sunny smiles and warmth to the stranger. Ishizu stepped closer and now she could see the woman on the opposite side of Noa. A pair of warm blue eyes look up at her through a mass of blonde curls, and when they locked eyes Ishizu knew that she’d met this woman before.

 

_But where?_

 

“Come on, sit down.” Noa was tugging gently on her sleeve, sunny smile slipping a bit as he looked up at her. The hostess was long gone, and Ishizu could hear the sounds of the restaurant fade into a background murmur as she tried to remember where she’d met this woman.

 

But then the expression in the blue eyes changes, and a somewhat resigned smirk graced the woman’s lips. “ _You_  again?”

 

* * *

 

“So you two know each other?”

 

Noa was looking inquisitively between the women across and beside him. A harried looking waitress had already come to collect Ishizu and Noa’s drink orders, and there had been an uncomfortable silence between the two women ever since.

 

The blonde twisted a curl around her finger. “ _Know_  is a strong word. It’s more like we’ve  _met_.”

 

“Really?” And Noa was back at looking at Ishizu. She was steadily regretting staying at the restaurant. She still didn’t remember where she’d met this woman before, and something told her that she’d remember a smirk like that. A face like that, at least. She rarely forgot people who annoyed her, and nothing annoyed her more than flashy people.

Besides Noa.

 

Noa cupped his face in his hands as he rested his elbows on the table. “That makes sense, we’re all students here, aren’t we?”

 

“Are you sure you’re speaking for yourself?” The blonde finally focused her attention fully on Noa. She peered a little closer. “Aren’t you a little young to be out this late?”

 

“Nu~uh.” He replied childishly. “I’m totally allowed to be out this late. My Dad signed my permission slip and everything!” Something flashed across his face, and then he shifted gears. He straightened up and reached out his hand across the table. “I’m Noa Kaiba, and I’m in the business school working on my executive MBA. It’s very nice to meet you.”

 

Ishizu wanted to roll her eyes at the adult tone Noa was suddenly using, but the blonde let out a pleased laugh. She elegantly reached out and grasped his hand, giving it a firm shake. “My, quite the little go-getter. I’m Mai Valentine, and I myself am here for my own MBA. Nice to see a classmate. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

 

Ishizu became aware that it was suddenly her turn for his little round of ‘ _get to know you better_ ’. She wished the waitress would hurry and get back with their drinks, but she could see her getting waylaid by a table complaining about their food.

 

She felt a gentle nudge against her side, and found Noa giving her a questioning look. “Come on, it’s your turn.” He leaned closer and stage whispered in her ear. “Come on, don’t embarrass me in front of the nice lady.”

 

The blonde- _Mai_  seemed to preen a bit at his comment. “Where exactly do I know you from?” Ishizu demanded instead. “I don’t know what this ‘ _you again_ ’ business is about and if I’m going to be at this table I would like an answer.” The other woman’s smirk just deepened.

 

“Come on, Ish-it’s probably not a big deal.” Noa didn’t like tension and he tried to get her to let it go. To his credit, he did avoid using her name. He seemed to notice that she didn’t feel like handing it over until she had more answers.

 

“Oh, did you want to know?”

 

“Don’t play games with-”

 

“Our drinks!”

 

It was true, their waitress had finally returned, and Mai and Ishizu’s faces returned to something more polite as Noa thanked their waitress. Ishizu could feel her appetite waning, but she managed to order a respectable salad in contrast to Noa’s double entree. If he was going to have nightmares all night, that would be his own problem.

 

All too soon, the waitress was gone again, and Noa’s buffer from the tension was no more. Ishizu glared again at Mai. “Well?”

 

There was a sparkle in Mai’s eyes as she leaned closer to Ishizu, her voice dropping to a near whisper. “Do you  _really_  want to know?”

 

“I  _really_  want to know so you two will stop talking in these weird polite-angry voices.” Noa stage whispered, though both women were already ignoring him.

 

“Alright then.” Mai shifted in her seat, adjusting the collar of her blouse before looking up at Ishizu. She raised up her hands. “Imagine this: a beautiful, sunny day. It’s still August, and certainly still feels like summer. I’m walking around campus because a beautiful person should be out and about on such a beautiful day,” Noa nodded at that, as if that made sense, “I’m having a good time.”

 

Suddenly, her hands clench, her expression shifting. “What’s this? As I navigate past rowdy freshmen and adjunct professors trying to run to the next campus, I see someone in sunglasses.”

 

“Are you planning on getting to the point any time soon?” Ishizu interrupted before being shushed by Noa.

“Come on, she’s getting to the good part.”

 

“Thank you.” Mai said, smiling at Noa before continuing on.

 

“So, I see this woman in sunglasses. She’s glaring a printed map that had probably been flat once but was crumpled up as if someone was taking their anger out on it. She looks like she doesn’t quite know where she is. Poor thing, she's lost and me, being the kind, helpful, ever so knowledgeable lovely grad student, I make my way over to her and I say-”

 

“What did you say?” Noa apparently had forgotten his previous stance on interruptions and looked on with rapt attention. Ishizu had a nagging feeling that she still couldn’t place.

 

Mai crossed her arms across her chest, closing her eyes as if savoring the memory. “Is there something I can help you with?” There’s a slight change to the pitch of her voice, softening it a bit. Ishizu still didn’t see the point in it all.

 

“That’s reasonable.” Noa said, as if he was the expert on giving directions.

 

“And what does she say?”

 

“What does she say?”

 

Mai’s face shifted into an exaggerated look of annoyance. “And she says ‘ _ **NO**_ ’, and yet I  _still_  try to help because I know a lost lamb when I see one, and do you know what she said next?”

 

“Tell me!” Ishizu remembered that it wasn’t too late to let Noa walk himself home.

 

Mai’s grin widened, and the look she gave Ishizu didn’t seem to hold anything good. She pitched her voice to a nasally falsetto.

 

“‘ _You know, a guy would know when to take a hint.’”_

 

And then it all came flooding back.

 

**THAT.**

 

“Oh for fuck’s sake.”


	2. Once More, With Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was always going to come a certain time in her life when she'd have to work on her people skills. Doesn't mean Ishizu has to like it. Doesn't mean she won't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skipping right along.

Here's the lovely piece that my big bang partner [Lizard Hats](http://lizard-hats.tumblr.com/post/176918927668/heres-my-half-of-the-yugioh-big-bang-event-based) did for my fic. Be sure to check her out on tumblr for more of her art. Thank you so much for the wonderful art!

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

So that marked the second time the blonde had conspired to mess with her day. Despite her plans on storming out of the restaurant (‘ _Just who did that damn blonde think she was?_ ’), there had been two problems:

 

A) her food hadn’t arrived yet, and she knew she’d be too pissed off to cook or grab something on the way home if she left then.

 

B) Noa had been holding on to her sleeve, pleading with her to stay.

 

Pleading loud enough so that people started staring over at their table.

 

So with great reluctance, she did.

 

Luckily, the blon-MAI seemed to take a hint that their past encounter wasn’t something Ishizu wanted to talk about, and she let Noa steer the conversation towards more neutral topics, which unsurprisingly mostly revolved around himself. In Mai he had found a captive audience to annoy with all the stories he had already annoyed Ishizu with.

 

And yet, as it turned out, the two had more classes in common than Ishizu had thought, and by the end of dinner it seemed like Noa has succeeded in making a new friend.  _Great_.

 

Ishizu herself had succeeded in contributing as little to the conversation as possible. By the end of the night, she let the two of them bicker over paying. Noa was insistent that  _he_  pay, and Mai apparently didn’t realize whose brat he was so  _she_  kept insisting on paying.

 

Ishizu had been an unwilling guest and refused to even consider offering.

 

Mai, to her slight, ever so slight, credit eventually conceded, which was for the best since Ishizu didn’t need the boy huffing and puffing on the walk home.

 

Finally, the unexpected trio were ready to part ways, Ishizu ready to walk Noa to his dorm as Mai motioned towards her car.

 

“Do either of you kids need a ride?”

 

“Nope, we’re good.” Noa hooked his elbow with Ishizu's, partially for the warmth, partially so she wouldn’t take off on him. “Thanks again for helping us!”

 

“It was my pleasure, if anything I should be thanking  _you_ for dinner.”

 

Noa grinned, obviously pleased with himself like the kid he was.

 

Ishizu decided it was time to end things before they spent the rest of the night thanking each other. “Well, it’s been fine, we’ll be going now.”

 

Mai sighed, giving her a lopsided smile. “It would be nice to know what name to say goodbye to.”

 

“Maybe if it be the only time we ever talked again.”

 

Mai looked undetered. “Ah, so cold. But speaking of cold, hey, you two hurry up and get home. I don’t want either of you getting sick.”

 

“Okay, you too!” called Noa, as the two groups starting parting ways. Ishizu and Noa began to walk, but she noticed that there was a distinct lack of heels clacking behind her. She looked back to see the blonde still watching them. Mai ducked her head a bit, a sheepish grin acknowledging that she got caught.

 

‘ _Of all the annoying..’_

 

“Ishizu.”

 

“What?”

 

More annoyed, she repeated herself. “It’s Ishizu. Now get the hell out of here.”

 

She turned back, pulling Noa alongside her as he waved behind them, the sound of quiet laughter following them in the cold night.

 

* * *

 

 

“Of all of the libraries in this town, fancy meeting you here.”

 

Ishizu groaned quietly. The worst thing about the special references books being forbidden from being removed from the library meant that she was held hostage there whenever she wanted to read one. First Noa, now Mai were picking up on her habits.

 

In the weeks following the  _‘dinner incident’,_  Noa and herself had been running into a certain annoying blonde more and more often. Ishizu was appalled to learn that Noa and Mai were even hanging out together on their own. Ishizu had brief plans of alerting her mother that Noa was spending time with older women of unknown (and assuredly deficient) decency, but was quick to shelve it.

It wasn’t often that people were willing to spend time with Noa without a hand out waiting for something.

 

As such, Ishizu found herself in the other woman’s company far more often than she liked.

  

“Why do you babysit the kid? I mean, he’s likable and all, but he seems a bit too chipper for your kind of tastes.” Mai asked, and Ishizu had been loath to admit at that point it was a fair enough question.

 

“My mother’s a lawyer and her firm has strong ties to his father’s company. You know about Kaiba Corp, right?”

 

“Um, in that it’s mega rich and more than a bit shady. So he really is one of  _those_  Kaibas?”

 

Ishizu have her a look. “There’s only two of them. My mother knows his father, and as a favor she has me watch out for him while he’s here. Try and keep him on the straight and narrow and not flunking out or getting someone pregnant.”

 

Mai snorted, particularly in an unladylike fashion. “You think he’d really do that?”

 

“Flunk out? Undoubtedly some professor will have an ax to grind with him some day. With the latter?" She used her fingers to list off her points. "Most girls here either a) don’t know how rich he is because acts like a brat, or B) all the money in the world couldn’t get them to have sex with him. They wouldn’t be able to survive the shame.”

 

“Come on, be nice he’ll be quite handsome someday. And, well-”

 

Mai looked around, as if the boy in question would pop out from behind a bookshelf. “You know, I thought for a hot second that there might be something else between you two, but he’s just grown on you, hasn’t he?” Ishizu pointedly ignored Mai’s warm smile. She didn’t have to admit to anything.

 

“Like a yeast infection.”

 

“Oh, that’s just gross.”

 

Ishizu allowed herself a small smile, and they went back to reading their respective books. It was almost, daresay, a respectable silence.

 

It didn't last.

 

“Anything in it for you besides the warmth of his companionship?”

 

Ishizu scrunched up her nose but kept her eyes on her book. “Well, my mother’s already more than enough to deal with without having her nagging at me. Besides, as long as I keep this up, she stays off my back about getting married. I’ve already had enough gangly sons of her business partners introduced to me for a lifetime.”

 

“Oh.” Now Ishizu looked up. Mai was looking down at her book, but there was something in her face that suggested she wasn’t really that focused on it. “Is that not something you’re interested in?”

 

Ishizu rolled the thought around for a moment. “I just don’t see why she’s so keen on me settling down so soon. Yeah, I know that she got married pretty young, and back in the day her mom was already on her third kid by the time she was my age." She shuddered at the thought. "Whether as a possibility or an inevitability, it’s not something I want to focus on right now.”

 

Mai made a sound of agreement, but her faced still seemed a little off. “Too caught up living in the moment, huh?”

 

More like wanting to finish law school and put enough distance between her mom and little brother with herself as possible. “Something like that.”

 

* * *

 

The autumn term continued on, and even as the library and nearby restaurant started getting busier with students suddenly aware of project deadlines, Ishizu found herself in the combined company of Mai and Noa more and more often. It was,  _different_. Years of moving from school to school following her parents' divorce had long sense desensitized her from the isolation of always being the new girl at school. She had shrugged it off, too busy with excelling at her coursework and and staying out of her mother's hair. It took the combined forces of her mother and older brother (who was practically a saint) to keep her bratty little brother in line anyways, and Ishizu was fine not getting attention. It was easier that way.

 

She preferred it that way. Really.

 

She was so used to being alone that by the time Noa had dropped into her life, she already had one degree down and not any friends to show for it. Their early experiences had been,  _rough_ , but gradually she had gotten used to him. Comfortable, in a way. That made it so much easier for Mai to slowly start becoming a part of their lives.

 

_Her_  life.

 

She’d say that she was annoyed, but Mai in all her flashy confidence didn’t seem as annoying as she first did, and Noa’s default setting was already ‘ _annoying_ ’ and she’d long gotten used to that.

 

It wasn’t until she was breaking out her heavier jackets from her closest (with her winter coats alert on standby) that the other shoe finally dropped.

 

“Is this a date?”

 

Mai stopped chewing with her mouth half full of spaghetti. She and Ishizu were at a small but cozy Italian restaurant a bit of a ways away from campus. It had taken quite a few tries and re-schedulings (not to mention bribes of movie nights with Noa) to get a night out with Ishizu.

 

Alone.

 

Sure, it was mid-afternoon on a Wednesday, but she was willing to take what she could get. At least, she  _was_. She looked up to see Ishizu frowning at her mushroom ravioli. “Um, come again.”

 

Ishizu’s frown shifted over to Mai. From her calculations, it’s wasn’t a ‘go _fuck yourself_ ’ frown that she had been subjected to several times before in the early days of their acquaintanceship, but it wasn’t the ‘ _you’re lucky I put up with you_ ’ frown that she gave Noa whenever she let him get away with things. She wasn’t quite sure what this frown meant, but she was starting on having second thoughts of trying to get away with a stealth date.

 

“Are you considering this a date right now?” Ishizu asked directly. Mai took a few moments to continue chewing, buying herself a little more time to think up an answer that wouldn’t end with Ishizu storming out of the restaurant.

 

“It’s” she carefully considered her words. “I think we’re having a nice meal at a nice restaurant. It’s not like it’s actually a  _date_.”

 

“So is it  **not**  like a date?” Mai gave a non-committal noise at that. “Because I was starting to wonder what was going on when you seemed so insistent to coming out here. We’ve only ever eaten together on campus, and that’s usually with Noa in tow.”

 

“Which reminds me,” Ishizu daintily cut through one of her pieces of ravioli before eating it. “That unlike any other outing we’ve had, Noa was surprisingly not whining about tagging along.”

 

‘ _And at least he didn’t squeal.’_  thought Mai.

 

“That was suspicious.”

 

“It’s not like the two of you are joined at the hip. He has plenty of fr-”

 

“Don’t interrupt me.” Ishizu jabbed her fork at Mai, her tone tighter than earlier. Mai shut up.

 

“But I wasn’t sure until I saw you go to the ‘ _bathroom_ ’, because it seemed a little strange that you were fiddling with your purse as you walked and you took a detour to talk to our waiter. The credit card flash was fairly telling.”

 

Mai felt heat rush into her face. “Oh, so you saw that.” She thought that she had been fairly smooth, trying to get ahead of the game. She would have just said that the meal had been on her if Ishizu hadn’t figured it out, and maybe they have had a few more solo outings together to get Ishizu more used to her company before trying for something more. She had figured forwardness wasn’t really her thing.

 

‘ _Too late now, though...’_

 

“So.”Ishizu was looking at her an expectant look. But not a particularly angry one. “Are you just going to sit there with spaghetti in your mouth and not answer me? That’s something I’d expect more out of the brat than you.

 

Mai wiped her lips with her napkin, and when she finished looked back up at Ishizu.

 

“I would  _like_  this to be a date.”

 

“So you  _were_  trying to pick me up on that day.”

 

Mai flashed her a grin that looked more confident than she really felt. “Yeah, like it wasn’t obvious.”

 

“You’re hopeless.”

 

“I’d like to think differently. Even though things didn’t work out back then, we’re here today, aren’t we?” Despite her flashy grin in place, Mai felt her voice falter a bit towards the end. And maybe it was just an average Italian restaurant a couple of blocks away from campus, but it was a something and she’d be happy to start anywhere as long as Ishizu would give her a chance.

 

Ishizu’s face softened a bit.

 

“I guess we are.”

 


	3. So Much for Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life doesn't slow down because you're still figuring things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's shuffling along with their feelings but only one of them gets hit by a curveball. Guess who? (Told you it was a prequel)

 

* * *

 

 

 

As the semester began to wind down, the trio found themselves focusing harder on their work. Mai and Ishizu at least. The boy wonder, for all of his lifestyle mishaps, never sweated his coursework. Mai had informed Ishizu that her charge was more popular than ever, with other business students trying to rope him into ‘ _helping_ ’ them finish their term projects. Ishizu quickly put a stop to it.

 

Even though they were busy, Ishizu and Mai managed to find time together. It was, dating? No, it wasn’t dating. Dating implied going out together and building rapport with each other’s circles. Noa knew more about Mai’s friends in the business department than she did, and while she vaguely knew that Mai had family back in California, she couldn’t remember being told any names.

 

Her family, of course, had no idea that Mai even existed, and vice versa. Mai knew she had a mother, but Ishizu thought that was already too much information. It was better to keep that can of strong personalities and unreasonableness closed until absolutely necessary. Besides, it wasn’t like Ishizu had any other friends than Noa. She hadn't cared as much about building relationships outside of work.

 

But this thing with Mai? It was new. Very new.

 

Whatever it was, it seemed to be developing nicely. Getting to know Mai was definitely preferable to just being randomly picked up on the sidewalk. The other woman’s strong self confidence and familiarity could be annoying, but she was considerably more hard working than Ishizu initially gave her credit. While she was a dancer by profession, it was the business side of the art that Mai was focusing on. While Ishizu preferred the sturdier building blocks of law, she admired how Mai infused her passion with practicality.

 

Since both women had been so busy, it had been a few weeks until they could have their next ‘ _date_ ’. Ishizu felt more like it was the first since this time they’d actually both be on board with the idea. While a movie and dinner didn’t feel like anything particularly special, she was too worn done from the semester to care much. It wasn't like she had anything to compare it to anyways.

 

Besides, it would be time together. Ishizu would be lying to say that she didn’t want more of that. There was something surprisingly addictive about the warmth the other woman seemed to exude, and after years of being by herself Ishizu found that she couldn't get enough of it.

 

* * *

 

So one cold November day Mai and Ishizu finally got their first real date.

 

The evening started decent enough. There weren’t a lot of promising movie choices to choose from. Their previous group outings to the theater on campus had never been a problem since Noa would usually be the one pleading and begging for them to go with him to see whatever he had his heart set on. In his absence (he already informed them that he’d be visiting home for once), they had to choose for themselves.

Mai suggested an action movie that seemed a little less shallow than usual. Is was that or some rom-com whose poster was embarrassing even to look at. Ishizu quickly agreed with Mai’s choice and that was that.

 

It was good enough on its own, though she usually didn’t care for movies obviously advertising a future sequel so blatantly. Still, Mai seemed to enjoy it, and hearing the other woman’s laugh made the movie all the more enjoyable.

 

They had dinner at a restaurant nearby. Ishizu was glad that they picked a theater off-campus since they wouldn’t have to be surrounded by a sea of under-aged undergrads. It was enough having Noa underfoot most of the time. She didn’t have room for any more annoying kids in her life.

 

[and if her younger brother fit under the latter category, well, again, Mai didn’t need to know that yet]

 

The restaurant wasn’t much classier than the Italian one they’d been to before, but it wasn’t that crowded and it was easy enough to hear each other. The conversation flowed freely. Opening up to the other woman was still something new and a little uncomfortable, but with each smile she got out of Mai it seemed easier.

 

Things were going fairly well until she heard the tell-tale signs of her phone beeping under the table. Naturally, few people had her number: her Mom, Odion, her advisor, Noa (most regrettably Noa), and as of late, Mai. She apologized to Mai and flipped open her phone, scanning the caller.

 

Of course it was Noa.

 

She answer, already feeling a pinch of irritation. “Can you not handle a day of being by yourself-” She hissed quietly.

 

“ _Ishizu.”_

 

She stopped. There was something very wrong about his tone of voice. It must have showed on her face, because Mai was asking in a hushed voice if something was wrong.

 

“Noa, where are you right now?”

 

“I’m back at my dorm, where are  _you_?”

 

“Mai and I are at the restaurant-”

 

“IfyouretherecanIcomeoverrightnowplease” he said in a breathless rush, as if he was about to run over immediately if she said ‘ _yes_ ’. But there was no saying ‘no’ to the helpless way in which he said her name.

 

“Yes, hurry up. When are you-”

 

“OK bye.” And he hung up on her, the little brat.

 

“What’s going on?” Mai asked, looking more worried. “Is he alright?”

 

Ishizu just shook her head. “Well, he’ll be here soon. I guess we’ll figure out.”

 

* * *

 

In a rather stunningly short amount of time, there was a familiar ugly, over-sized sweater in her field of vision. She waved him over, and rather than giving her his usual grin he had a curiously empty look on his face.

 

He sat down quickly, banging his knees against the edge of the table. Their drinks sloshed gently, but no one took much notice of them. If it hurt, he didn’t seem to notice. He his gaze shifted between the two women, a nervous smile flashing every few seconds, in sharp contrast to the tension strung through his long body. After a few more seconds of awkwardness, the tension seemed to flow out of him.

 

“Wow, this was a bad idea. It’s your date night, it’s a bad time, so, you know I can just go-”

 

Ishizu pursed her lips, giving him a look. “You’re already here. Just sit down and spit it out already.”

 

“Maybe you’d like something to drink first?” Mai offered, passing Noa a kind smile. “I’ll call the waitress over. We’ve already finished eating, but we were planning on staying for desert anyways.”

 

And they most certainly weren’t, if what the hints Mai was dropping earlier were to be believed. A night of talking some more at her apartment had seemed fairly enticing, even though she knew anything bordering on physical intimacy was completely off the table. She wasn't ready. Yet.

 

But that wasn’t really important anymore. The jittery, unfamiliar kid in front of her was.

 

She grabbed one of the menus left at the table and pushed it towards him. “Hurry up and order something or I’ll do it for you.”

 

He tried to flash her a smile again, but it only made it halfway onto his lips before it faded. Quietly, he pulled it towards him as Mai flagged down their waitress. Without giving it much thought, he seemingly picked something at random. Ishizu wasn’t feeling hungry either, but she ordered a coffee. Better to be a bit more alert.

 

There was more hemming and hawing from Noa. One moment it looked like he would start talking, but then he would change his mind and go back to fidgeting with his sleeves again. It was maddening to watch.

 

Finally, it looked like he was going to start. He let out a shaky laugh. “So, you know, I said I was going home for a bit? It’s a nice house you know, big, but I don’t like being there when Dad’s not around and Dad’s never around. It’s just, too big? But it feels a little claustrophobic, which is weird because it’s big but it just, I don’t know.”His shoulders jerked up. “I don’t fill it well?” Another laugh followed this, but there was something ugly about it.

 

“You were talking about it. You seemed pretty excited.” Mai said. “Is everything okay?”

 

Noa shifted in his seat. “He wasn’t there.”

 

‘ _Big surprise there.’_ Ishizu thought. For all the brushing off she did, she didn’t hold a candle to how well Gozaburo Kaiba could ignore his own son.

 

“Something come up at work again?” Ishizu asked. That was his usual defense for his father’s indifference. Their drinks and his ice cream arrived before he could answer. “You know how he is with that.” But he shook his head.

 

“No, it wasn’t like normal. You know it doesn’t really bother me that he does that.” Which was a lie, Ishizu knew, but at least he was talking. “Um, instead, one of his secretaries was there. One of the important ones. He needed to talk to me about something.”

 

“You didn’t have to go all the way to the house if your dad just wanted to leave a message. He could’ve just called you.” But that was very much like the Kaiba elder, to make his son go out of his way unnecessarily just because he could.

 

“Dad doesn’t like calling, and, um, it really, REALLY isn’t something that I wanted to hear on the phone. Really not.” He dug his spoon into his ice cream, stirring it a bit in its dish. He left the spoon stuck in the ice cream without tasting any of it.

 

“Noa.” Mai said softly, trying to coax more out of him. “Whatever happened, I’m sure it’s going to be okay. You’re right here, right now, and you’re not alone. If there’s a problem, we can try and find a solution together, what do you say?” Mai reached across the table, grasping his hand gently. There was so much warmth in her face, even Ishizu felt touched.

 

But a quick glance over at Noa, she could see it was having the opposite of its intended effect. His face was scrunching up, and he looked close to tears.

 

“My dad adopted two kids last week.”

 

* * *

 

After that revealing statement, Noa really did burst into tears. It was loud and messy, and Ishizu was quick to settle the bill as Mai helped the distraught Noa out of the restaurant. Ishizu wasn’t sure she’d ever want to go in there again after that scene, but it didn’t bother her that badly.

 

It was a cold but mercifully short walk to Mai’s car, and from there they all ended up at Mai’s apartment. It made sense since it was close and Noa really had no business going back to his empty dorm room in the state he was in.

 

They were parked and upstairs to Mai’s apartment before she knew it. It was her turn to attend to the still sniffling boy, her attempts to maneuver him towards the couch hampered by his long, gangly legs shuffling around. Finally, she got him seated, and she sat next to him to keep him from trying to escape. Soon after Mai joined them with some glasses of water.

 

“Coffee won’t ready for a while, but this might be better for a starter. Also, here.” Mai passed Noa a handkerchief which he quickly used to scrub his face. “Maybe you might want to wash your face too?” She jerked her head to the side. “The bathroom’s right over there.”

 

Noa was quick to shake his head. “No, it’s fine. I’m like, wow, that was embarrassing.” His voice was still wavering, but it wasn’t as warbled as before. “It was just like, BOOM, and now I’m just sitting here feeling stupid and I’m really sorry ab-”

 

“Shut up, Noa.” Ishizu wasn’t the natural nurturer that Mai was, and she figured it wasn’t the time to try something new. “And also, what the fuck is up with your dad, really.”

 

“Ishizu-”

 

“No, Mai, you’ve never even  _met_  that asshole.”

 

“You’ve only met him twice.” Noa muttered weakly, but Ishizu ignored him.

 

“Trust me, as much as that guy looks like a prick, he’s infinitely moreso on the inside.” She looked back at Noa. She was still processing his outburst at the restaurant. “Adoption?  _Really_?”

 

“ _Really_  really.” He said, pulling his legs up. The way he sat made it look like he was burrowing into himself. “And no, it’s not like it’s something he’s considering, or ever talked about. Apparently, it’s something he decided? A while ago? And didn’t want to mention it until the paperwork went through I guess. His secretary didn’t really go into detail about it.”

 

“Like you’re supposed to be on some kind of ‘need to know’ basis.” Ishizu snapped. Noa’s fingers absentmindedly played with the edges of his sleeves, eyes, cast downward

 

“The guy said Dad just wanted me to know, but that it wasn’t going to change much in the future. Like, I don’t know what he was talking about. Not going to change much? Does he think I’m worried I’m going to have to change bedrooms or something? Or is it a money thing?”

 

His was starting to talk faster, as if everything building up until that moment was starting to pour out all at once. “Like, does my Dad think that I’ll be upset about? Because YEAH I’m upset but it’s also like, why? Like why all of the sudden would he tell me something like this, or why couldn’t he even tell me himself?  _‘Hey son, things have been going great, but I was thinking about trying some new kids out. Don’t worry, you’re still first in my will!’”_

 

There was a slight hysterical pitch to his voice, and Ishizu grabbed one of the glasses of water, nudging his shoulder with it until he grabbed it with his own hands. “Drink it. Don’t make me ask again.”

 

Noa didn’t put up much of a fight. He started sipping the water. Ishizu figured he was as parched as hell from all the crying he’d been doing. There was a quiet chiming from the kitchen, and Mai excused herself to get the coffee, leaving the two of them together.

 

It was at times like that that Ishizu really wished Odion was there. The sole member of the Ishtar clan who was favored compassion over all else, he’d have an idea of how to comfort the obviously miserable younger boy. As it was, it was just her, since Mai was off in the kitchen.

 

Hugging wasn’t her thing, and soft words felt clunky in her mouth. Still, she wasn’t completely useless. She reached out the arm closer to him and let her hand rest on his head. It was a stretch since he was still taller than her, but she made it work.

 

“You know, what kind of gets me the most? Like, all of this is kind of overwhelming in a way not fun way, but, you know.” She let him continue to ramble in silence. He’d get there.

 

He drew in and released a shaky breath. “I’d always look at you and your family and feel kind of funny about it. I have my Dad, I love my Dad, and I’m happy I get to have him, and I know you say what you say but I’m pretty sure he loves me too. I don’t remember Mom, which is both good and bad. I can’t miss her if I don’t remember her, but if I remembered her I could have at least something of her that I’d get to keep? On the inside and all.”

 

“But you have your mom and your brothers, and even if you say they’re a pain all the time at least they’re  _there._  You can visit them and talk to them, and fight with them but you always sort it out and I think that’s neat. Me?”

 

He put his glass down, pulling his hands back into his over-sized sleeves as he tried to hide in his sweater. “I don’t know where my Dad is most of the time. Sure, I got his personal cell number, but I know he doesn’t like me using it so I don’t. He’s always traveling, and even when he isn’t he’s almost never home. Back when I was little, yeah, I saw him a lot, but I’ve seen more of his secretaries than him these past few years and? He’s a busy guy, he’s an important guy, and I’ve always down deep down that everything he does has a meaning, and even if I don’t figure it out now, I’ll eventually understand.”

 

He huddled closer into himself. “But even knowing that I’ve always kind of hoped that we’d be closer. Like, maybe he missed Mom too, and we’d be closer? Wow, that sounds kinda gross out loud, but today’s been a kinda gross day, huh?” Ishizu just nodded. Mai seemed to be taking a long time with that coffee, but he was on a roll and needed to let more out.

 

“And, maybe, just maybe, sometimes when I was by myself, that  _‘hey wouldn’t it be nice’_  if it wasn’t just me and Dad. Like, if he remarried, that’d be weird, but in a good weird? She wouldn’t be the same as Mom, but she’d be family, and it’d be nice to have someone who was family who I could actually talk to and do family stuff with. A-and,” his voice cracked, but he persevered on, “what if they had another kid? A baby in the house. Or what if she already had kids? It would be different, then. I could’ve been a big brother, or if they were older I’d be the little brother.”

 

He looked up at Ishizu, his face a mix of anguish and hope. “Could you imagine, me being somebody’s little brother? And that would be a cool weird, and we’d get to do stuff together kinda like what I get to do when your Mom lets me visit your brothers, but it wouldn’t just me visiting family, it would be me BEING family.”

 

“And, I like being with your family and I’m grateful that you put up with it, but visiting a family and being a part of a family aren’t exactly the same, even if that also sounds shitty and I just feel shitty ‘ _wow Noa you’re so damn shitty because didn’t you want more family and now you do but you **CAN’T**  be happy about because you’re so shitty_’ and Ishizu I’m supposed to be a big brother now and I don’t even know if I want to or if I’ll be any good and I’m just so scared.”

 

And with that, the tears were in full force again. He scrubbed his face with his sleeves, Mai’s delicate handkerchief nowhere near up for the task of handling the mess that was his face. Hiding his face away, his shoulders kept shaking with half repressed sobs. She moved her hand to rub the back of his neck, vainly trying to work some of the tension out of his neck,

 

Aside from his sobs, they sat there in silence.

 

She was aware of Mai lurking in the doorway from the kitchen. She knew Mai was soft with Noa, but that was just her nature and she’d only known him for a couple of months. Ishizu had known him for considerably longer, and she knew that she would have to take the lead with where they would go from there.

 

Her fingers kept working at the back of his neck as his sobs started to lessen in intensity. She waited until the pauses between them began to widen, knowing that he really wasn’t in a state to absorb any kind of important lessons about self worth or the sort. It would just be better to let him let it out a bit more before he was ready to listen.

 

Eventually, he was down to a few sniffles. He had mostly gotten himself back under control.

 

“Hey.” Ishizu said quietly, waiting for him to acknowledge her before going on. “This is a lot for one night, isn’t it?” He paused for a bit before nodding. “Yeah, I thought so too.” She went on. “So, it’s for sure? They’re younger than you?”

 

He started coughing, and she pushed him to drink a little more before answering. “Yeah, they are. I didn’t really get a lot of info, but yeah there’s two of them and they’re younger.”

 

“Hmm.” Ishizu nodded. “So big brother. Big brother Noa.” She smiled a bit ruefully. “I think now would’ve been a good time to tell you that everything’s going to be okay, and start sharing all my helpful tips about being a good big sister. Shame, huh?”

 

Noa didn’t answer, but just watched her with swollen eyes. At least he was listening.

 

“Because I don’t think it’s breaking news to say that I’m not a particularly good big sister. I don’t get along with my little brother, and I guess I don’t particularly want to? Like, somewhere along the line the whole sister-brother thing got warped and I just wish he wasn’t there most of the time. I know it makes Mom mad how much we fight, and it hurts Odion. I know that.”

 

“But you still love each other.” Noa said in a voice barely above a whisper. “And if you had to, you’d do anything for him.”

 

“I guess if I had to.” She let her fingers rest against his neck. “And there’s a big difference between ‘ _having to_ ’ and ‘ _wanting to_ ’ do something. You don’t have to be a lawyer to understand that.”

 

He gave an aborted nod at that, as if he didn’t quite agree with it but was still looking for where she was going with this path.

 

“But Odion’s different. He’s only a couple years older, but he’s been putting Malik’s and my own wants and needs in front of his own since we were born. He’s always thinking too much, always doing too much, always caring too much. It’s frustrating watching him sometimes. Just the level of selflessness, knowing that Malik and I will be at each other’s throats over some stupid shit and he’s there trying to break up the fight and appease both of us not because he wants us to shut up-” that’d be their mother, “-but because he doesn’t want us angry at each other. Kind of a shit lot to pull in life, huh?”

 

Noa didn't answer but he was still following along. She kind of hoped that Mai would just go back into the kitchen and ignore what she was saying, but she’d figure out the Ishtar family drama soon enough.

 

“But he’s a good brother, a great one, the best one. Mom’s done a great job by herself, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never met anyone with a bigger heart than him. And it’s big, so it’s an easy target and he gets hurt a lot because Malik and I can’t pull our heads out of our asses. But because it’s so big he has a large capacity for forgiveness, and when I’m around him I always know that I’m loved, and that’s meant the world to me.”

 

Her fingers work their way into the his hair, partly as a comforting motion and partly to make sure he was facing her.

 

“I don’t know what kind of person I’d be without him, but I know I would be worse. And that’s a pretty big burden for him to bear, and it’s not fair to him and I hate that he has to bear it, but I also love him for it. Now,” she pursed her lips, “let me make it clear: your situation isn’t the same as his. Odion’s a full grown man capable of handling himself, and you’re still just a kid and I wish you’d stay a kid for a bit longer.”

 

“And,” she gestured wildly with her free hand, “this whole shit-show is you father’s doing. Hopefully he’ll do some explaining soon, because knowing is definitely better than not knowing. And, just so you know, you have the right to be upset about all of this. You’re not being a bad person and you’re definitely not being a bad son because you’re feeling hurt or have conflicted feelings. You didn’t ask for this, it was pushed into you, so cut yourself some slack.” She waited for an answer that she didn’t receive, and tugged on a lock of his hair to make a point.

 

“Okay, okay, don’t, I don’t want to go bald.” he mumbled in a weak imitation of his usual whine.

 

“And another thing.” Ishizu continued. He was starting to look a bit more of his regular self, but she knew he was still a long ways off. “These two kids, whoever they are, this situation’s probably weird for them too. It’s...not really an ideal situation for anyone involved. This situation isn’t fair to you and I’m not telling you that you have to act like a big brother or pretend to feel something that you don’t, but, I don’t know. Just cut them a little slack too. Okay?”

 

“Okay.” He answered back. He was still looked unsure and vulnerable, but given a few days he’d probably have a fuller grasp on the situation and be able to handle it better. For all of his usual whining he was pretty adaptable, and she knew this wouldn’t be the thing that would break him down.

 

“Good. Now go wash your face, I’m tired of seeing you wipe snot over that ugly sweater. You should just burn it.”

 

And that comment earned her a sliver of a lopsided grin. Arms still swimming in his sleeves, Noa got up and shuffled over to the bathroom. It wasn’t until the door was closed that Mai finally came in with the damn coffee.

 

“You know, you could have jumped in at any time with your touchy-feely ‘ _I want to be a_ _dance_ _teacher_ _because I CARE_ _’_  vibes.”

 

Ishizu kept her voice down, but gave Mai a pointed look. The blonde sent back a small smirk before setting down the tray. There were two large mugs of coffee flanked by two glasses of water. “I was actually going to say that you were being very sweet back there. I think I’ll take that back now.”

 

“I have never been sweet a day in my life. I’ll take you to court for defamation and run you out of town.”

 

“I’ll take a rain check on that. Pick your poison.” Mai gestured at the drinks.

 

Ishizu cocked her head. “What, no coffee for the kid? Afraid it’s going to stunt his growth?”

 

Mai shook her head, her curls softly bouncing. “Who are you kidding, that boy’s exhausted. Going to give him a t-shirt I got on campus during an event ages ago that was way too big. Never got around to donating it, can put it to use for once. You can both spend the night, I think we’re all a little spent.”

 

“You’re just saying that because you don’t want to drive anywhere at, what,” she looked down at her watch, “11:50 at night? Lazy.”

 

Mai just shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of her coffee. “I’d be happy to drive the two of you anywhere if you wanted me to. I just don’t think the kid should be alone right now, and maybe it’d be better as a two-person gig.”

 

“How thoughtful of you.” Ishizu said as she reached for her own coffee. It looked like Mai used more milk in her coffee than she was used to, but she didn’t mind the sweetness.

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

Noa was taking his time in the bathroom. Ishizu figured that he was finally feeling a bit self conscious about the night. Dumb kid would probably beat himself up for acting like the kid he was. Quite the contrast to Malik, but she knew she didn’t have a lot of room to turn up her nose with her own past behavior.

 

There was a comfortable silence between the two of them. Ishizu almost didn’t want to break it.

 

“I didn’t think the night was going to end up like this.”

 

“We’ll, yeah, I could figure. It was a bit more wild than I counted on.”

 

“No.” Ishizu shook her head. “I was...during dinner I was kind of thinking of a different direction. Maybe staying out longer or coming back here to talk. To just be with you.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“’Oh’ is right.” Ishizu replied. She couldn’t help the twinge of regret she felt. “I really liked spending time with you.”

 

“Why does that sound like it’s something that isn’t going to happen anymore?” There was a careful neutrality in Mai’s face and tone.

 

“Because I said a lot of things tonight that I didn’t entirely want you to hear, and I’m kind of embarrassed border-lining on ashamed that I don’t just act shitty to weird strangers that try to pick me up, but to family members too. Even aggressively non-shitty ones like my older brother.” She took another sip of her coffee to avoid looking at Mai. “I never even told you that I had brothers.”

 

“We’ve just been getting to know each other. I figured you’d tell me a little more about yourself whenever you felt ready too.”

 

“There’s not a lot much more to  _know.”_ Ishizu countered. “I’m 21, a law student and I have a mom I fight with, a brother I hate, and another I let down a lot. I work hard and the closest thing I have to a friend is a dumb kid who doesn’t know any better. That’s most of the big points.”

 

“Thanks for giving me an abridged version, but I’m still interested in finding out more.”

 

“That sounds kind of dumb.”

 

“You should use that as a legal argument. That’s the kind of phrasing we need in modern courtrooms.”

 

Ishizu felt a laugh build up in her throat, but she let it out as a huff instead. “You just don’t know when to quit.”

 

“Remember back when I hit on you last year?”

 

“I try not to.”

 

Mai smiled and continued. “I felt like such an idiot afterwards. I saw a pretty girl and I thought  _‘wow, I’d like to get to know her story’_. And this pretty girl? She wasn’t interested in the slightest. She talked circles around me and walked off and I thought,  _‘man, I just_ _blew it_ ’, and I was disappointed but I went on with life. No rest for the wicked.”

 

“But then out of nowhere, the damn dining hall gets flooded and I’m at some half-assed restaurant trying to get some dinner and studying done, and who walks in but the pretty girl who wasn’t impressed with me, and if I maybe kind of for a second felt my heart drop because she was walking in with a boy, could you blame me? But I saw you and I thought again ‘ _I_ _ **really**_ _want to know her story’,_ and I still do if you’d give me the chance.”

 

Her words were soft, but there was an intensity in Mai’s eyes that made Ishizu want to look away, but she wouldn’t.

 

“That’s very mature of you, Ms Valentine.”

 

“Thank you, Ms Ishtar.”

 

And even if the world suddenly felt a bit less certain than it did earlier that morning, Ishizu couldn’t really say that she regretted giving Mai a chance.

 

Long after Noa was washed up and was put to bed on Mai’s couch, the two women stayed up, enjoying the silence of each other’s company as the night melted away to dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are! Just like the main series is ongoing (I'm working on it, folks!), so is the prequel. Hopefully get the second parts of both series up by November, the adventure continues on. :D


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